AN: Usual disclaimer here and enjoy to start of Zutara week =)
Katara was not someone that complained much in general, a few stressful and emotionally high strung moments aside, and she was very much not someone that complained about the cold. She had, after all, grown up in the South Pole where the warmest homes were those made out of snow and free time had been spent throwing and tumbling around in the snow. In short she was no stranger to the cold. Yet for some reason it had been a while since she had felt properly warm.
She jumped at the chance to travel again when Aang visited the larger and vastly improved Southern Water Tribe. As they set out on Appa her only request had been that they go somewhere warm. The Air Temple was fine, Kyoshi Island was fine, Gaoling was fine, and even Omashu was just fine. Regardless of the old friends they caught up with, the new ones they made, and the people they helped Katara couldn't seem to shake the lack of warmth that had been plaguing her for a while. When they started to make their way to Ba Sing Se Katara was determined to ask Iroh for advice on her ever elusive warmth before she simply deemed herself off center. Sokka had grumbled about her hogging the pelts after confirming that she wasn't sick, Suki had been too busy training the new Kyoshi Warriors that had swamped the island from every nation, Toph had made a comment about her becoming an Ice Cream Queen with a curious tilt of her head, and although Aang had noticed that something was different, he was far too concerned with his attempts to be romantic and not accidentally offend her.
Cautious relief started to creep up on her when Iroh sat her down at one of the tables after the Jasmine Dragon had closed and began to brew the tea. Aang had thankfully given up on his attempts to drag her to the zoo with him after a few words from Iroh and had already left with Momo.
"How have you been Master Katara? I've heard about how wonderfully the Southern Water Tribe has been flourishing both from my nephew and from my supplier of water tribe herbs. I can make you some traditional Water Tribe tea later if you wish, my fusions are also quite popular if I do say so myself."
Her eyebrow quirked up at the mention of Zuko and at the amount of a particularly spicy herb he was adding to the pot. Iroh had earned her trust time and time again and when it came to tea she was the last one to question him, except when it came to discerning between some very similar herbs, but she found herself keeping a careful eye on the herbs he was using.
"I've been fine Uncle; the tribe has grown so much that if I'm not paying attention to where I'm going I can get lost. You should visit someday, I'm sure that everyone would love to meet you and hear your stories. How have you been?"
A touch of his hand against the hand painted tea pot and he carefully removed it from the flame before pouring the golden tea into the matching tea cups. Now that the herbs had been properly brewed the scent was even stronger and it practically tickled her nose. She accepted her cup gratefully before taking a cautious sip. The hot tea burnt slightly from the herbs as it trailed down her throat before settling in her stomach and almost exploding with warmth. Her eyes flitted up to Iroh's as the warmth hit her and judging by the knowing smile on his face as he drank his tea he was quite aware of what had been troubling her.
"This tea has always been wonderful for when a chill sets in and is too stubborn to leave. It's quite popular among Fire benders."
Now that she had gotten used to the burn of the tea she was almost greedily drinking it up to keep the chill at bay. With her fingers wrapped around the cup she gratefully took the opening he had left for her.
"Are Fire benders prone to the cold? I know that Zuko was weak at the North Pole but I can't picture too many Fire benders heading to either of the poles on a regular basis."
Iroh refilled her cup as she spoke and it was only then that she noticed that it was even in need of refilling. As soon as he finished pouring she brought the cup close to her again but this time took care to drink more slowly.
"Normally Fire benders are only affected by extreme cold, as you saw with my nephew at the North Pole, there are other conditions however that set a chill in a Fire bender. Some say that when a loved one of a Fire bender passes away they are taken up by a chill, they complain about a lack of warmth. It passes in time once they have made peace with the passing but it does come back during periods of grief over their loss. Even some non-benders have complained of this happening to them but to a lesser extent of course."
He paused to drink his own tea while she chewed on her lip for a moment in thought. Clearly this wasn't what was bothering her, none of the Fire benders she considered herself to be close with had passed away even if she did happen to fall into the category of non Fire benders that were affected in such a way.
"Just as with all benders there are times when our emotions take control of our bending, even if we ourselves are not aware of the emotions. Sometimes those around the bender or the bender themselves can be brought to harm because of this; other times it forces the bender to discover the reason behind their imbalance. One must always listen to themselves, that is something that is harder than most would think."
Katara took in his words as eagerly as she consumed the tea that was still doing quite a good job at keeping the irritating chill at bay. It made sense, the only reason Aang had been freed in the first place after all had been because she had allowed her emotions to take over, of course causing ice to collapse was slightly different from the hint of a chill that was more irritating than a word lost on the tip of her tongue.
"But Uncle, how could a Water bender be affected in the same way a Fire bender would be over a lost loved one, especially since it has never happened before?"
She was gently scratching her cup now, not enough to damage the delicate flower petals painted on it but enough to allow her nervous habit to take form. A small frown that would have earned her a reprimand from Toph for pouting, even though she was not pouting at all, had settled upon her lips and didn't appear to be leaving anytime soon now that she had allowed it to appear.
"Ah, now that my dear could be calor."
Iroh's understanding look only served to make her even more confused as he once again refilled her cup, her attempt to restrain her tea drinking slightly had apparently failed. Her brow scrunched up as her non pout became slightly more prominent. She hadn't heard that word before; not from a friend, a stranger, or a book, not even from Aang and he still used some words that had even her Gran Gran calling him old.
"I'm not familiar with calor Uncle, what is it?"
Once more her fingers rewrapped themselves against the delicate cup as she enjoyed the automatic heat the tea gave off. The previously tickling scent now simply caused her to breathe in deeper as she brought the cup close to her yet again.
"It's simply another word that we use in the Fire Nation that means heat but its use is slightly different. Just as you may have several words in your tribe to refer to specific types of snow we have a similar situation with heat related words in the Fire Nation. In this case we use the word when the heat is vital. Although water brings life with it, as we see in your beautiful healing powers and the flora and fauna around us that depends on the rainfall, in the Fire Nation we consider fire to be equally as important to life if not more. It was fire that kept us warm, helped us see and protect ourselves in the dark, cleansed the sea water of salt and of course, allowed us to have tea."
He winked playfully and she felt her frown falter and flitter into a small smile. She was surprised it had taken so long for him to sneak tea into his explanation.
"At one point it became almost a pet name among lovers to call each other their calor, their heat, the thing that made their own life better, not always easier or faultless but better none the less. Just as when one is grieving the loss of a loved one, some feel such a chill or lack of calor when they are separated or arguing with one they hold so close. I noticed plenty of soldiers go through such a thing when they had a loved one waiting for them at home, it was hard to keep up with the amount of herbs needed for the tea at times."
Another grin and her non pout had turned into a slightly uneasy smile. Although she was gaining information and his tale was entertaining it still held no relevance over her. Even when she had been surrounded by her family and reunited tribe the chill had managed to creep in and even meeting with her friends hadn't helped in easing it.
"But Uncle, this still doesn't apply to me. I have no such loved one and if my emotions do escape me they usually manifest in other ways concerning my bending. I've never felt this chill before."
The frown was threatening to come back now but was at least momentarily displaced by a sigh and simple weariness that had been hidden from Aang. Iroh smiled reassuringly at the younger bender, there was only so far he could go before even he couldn't deny being free of meddling.
"Perhaps this is your inner self's way of catching your own attention by acting in such a way that is unusual to you. Maybe the solution to your problem is connected to the Fire Nation, or perhaps you are proving my nephew's assumption correct in that you have the heart and passion of a Fire bender."
A soft smile was exchanged between the two and the conversation changed to the current news within Ba Sing Se as she assisted him in brewing another pot by summoning more water.
The chill was still there when they landed in the courtyard of the Fire Nation palace, their trip to visit the last of their core friends had been hurried slightly by Iroh's package intended for his nephew; he had reassured them that it wasn't anything important but they didn't want to dally too much. Katara had further been hurried along by the fact that her herbs for the tea that helped keep the chill at bay were starting to run out and one of them was apparently tricky to find outside of the capital according to Iroh.
As soon as they landed they were immediately surrounded by servants ready to show them to their rooms and take care of Appa. Explanations were quickly given as to why Zuko wasn't available at the moment but just as quickly they were reassured that he would be free by dinner time, just enough time for them to freshen up from their travels.
A smile managed to find its way onto Katara's face as she walked into the dining room and spotted Zuko already waiting for them. It was with eager steps that she crossed the room and quickly hugged her old friend who, slightly awkwardly, returned her hug before letting her go. Before he could stumble into further awkwardness he, just as awkwardly, gestured towards the tea already placed for them and the presently delayed Avatar.
"Tea? This one might be a bit spicy though, Uncle recommended it to me and it's all I've been drinking for a while."
Katara enjoyed that regardless of how awkward Zuko could be at times, they still managed to easily slip into conversation that might be shared among friends that saw each other daily and not a few times a year at most. A familiar scent tickled her nose and she glanced away from the now taller Fire Lord and towards the patiently waiting cups. Her eyes widened slightly at the equally familiar golden contents which only caused Zuko to worry in turn.
"A different tea can be made, or a cold drink if you want, I just thought that since the herbs he sent were for this particular tea he thought that the two of you may enjoy this blend, I didn't make it so you don't have to worry about that."
His babbling brought a small smile to her face as she turned her attention back to him. Regardless of the more formal clothing he wore or the flame head piece that now adorned his topknot he could still trip over his own words better than most people, thankfully this side wasn't as prominent in public. He sighed at her lack of response and her smile only grew.
"The tea is fine; it's the one I've been drinking since we left Ba Sing Sae."
She reassured him and another sigh, this one of relief, escaped his lips before Aang bounded into the room with Momo on his shoulder. It was only when she was lying in the plush bed that she noticed that she hadn't touched her tea during the entire meal. With a sleepy smile she pushed off her light weight comforter and fell asleep feeling quite warm. In the morning she could wonder about Uncle's claims of calor being the root behind the chill, tonight she would simply enjoy the heat.